knuckle
Americannoun
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knuckles
plural
-
a joint of a finger, especially one of the articulations of a metacarpal with a phalanx.
-
the rounded prominence of such a joint when the finger is bent.
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a joint of meat, consisting of the parts about the carpal or tarsal joint of a quadruped.
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an angle or protrusion at the intersection of two members or surfaces, as in the timbers of a ship or in a roof.
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a cylindrical projecting part on a hinge, through which an axis or pin passes; the joint of a hinge.
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(in a wire mesh) a bend in a wire crossing another wire.
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(on a chair arm) one of the ridges left at the front end by longitudinal flutes carved to accommodate the fingers.
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Nautical. a pronounced edge formed by a change in the form of the shell of a hull.
verb (used with object)
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knuckles,
present (3rd person singular)
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knuckled,
past participle, past
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knuckling
present participle
-
to rub or press with the knuckles.
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Marbles. to shoot (a marble) from the thumb and forefinger.
verb phrase
noun
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a joint of a finger, esp that connecting a finger to the hand
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a joint of veal, pork, etc, consisting of the part of the leg below the knee joint, often used in making stews or stock
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the cylindrical portion of a hinge through which the pin passes
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an angle joint between two members of a structure
-
informal approaching indecency
verb
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(tr) to rub or press with the knuckles
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(intr) to keep the knuckles on the ground while shooting a marble
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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knucklesimple
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knucklessimple
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have knuckledperfect
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has knuckledperfect
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am knucklingprogressive
-
are knucklingprogressive
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is knucklingprogressive
-
have been knucklingperfect progressive
-
has been knucklingperfect progressive
Past
-
knuckledsimple
-
had knuckledperfect
-
was knucklingprogressive
-
were knucklingprogressive
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had been knucklingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of knuckle
1325–75; Middle English knokel (akin to Dutch kneukel, German Knöchel ), diminutive of a word represented by Dutch knok, German Knochen bone; see -le
Explanation
Your knuckles are the joints in your fingers that are farthest from your fingernails. When you clench your hand into a fist, your knuckles are especially prominent. A knuckle is the part of your hand that makes it possible to move a finger freely, and if someone offers you a "knuckle sandwich," you should politely decline, since they're actually planning to make a fist and punch you in the mouth. To knuckle is to rub with the knuckles, like when you knuckle a bit of sand out of your eye. The root of knuckle is the Proto-Germanic knuk-, "bone."
Vocabulary lists containing knuckle
"LAFFF"
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 11
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Instead, attackers fill the space up to the ceiling, forming what I can only describe as a Dagwood knuckle sandwich.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
This kit includes everything you need to make eight luxurious rolls: two pounds of Maine knuckle and claw meat, eight open-top buns, a half-pint of lemony mayo, and the butter to toast the rolls in.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2025
"Guys, I just got poked knuckle deep in the eyeball. Why are you booing? I can't see," said a crestfallen Aspinall.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2025
“This step up in tensions has created a white knuckle moment for the markets with tech stocks under major pressure,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote to clients on Friday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2025
The disease which was rotting his body had eaten away nail and flesh to the first knuckle.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
For me, among so many other things, I enjoy without measure watching great reporters crack their knuckles and create a saga where once stood a blinking cursor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
The vice president’s words sound good — like a rap on the knuckles of the tech billionaires who can’t stop claiming they’re building doomsday devices.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
But they can try to make sense of what just passed, starting with a primary season that was a strange mix of ennui and white knuckles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
Mr Teller said the name was also inspired by the distinctive pale "knuckles" on the small leg-like appendages at the side of the spider's mouth.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2025
The third one clutched a terrarium full of pixies so tight her white knuckles turned red.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
He is rarely bare knuckled on the golf course.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
Yet, when faced with adversity, Adams never knuckled up for any fights on principle, choosing only to take the easiest and most comfortable way out.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2025
Asked if it had knuckled on Outman, Marte was sympathetic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2023
When it came, he read the puck and deflected it with the shaft of his stick, then watched as it knuckled past Shesterkin to make it 1-0 at 4:25.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 25, 2023
Possibly she wants to be a painter, and thinks I have compromised my principles, knuckled under to success.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Writing for the Sun on Sunday, Starmer described the strategy as "the most ambitious yet honest delivery plan in a generation" as the government was "knuckling down" on delivering its election promises.
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2024
Fowler scored his career-best 43rd point with a goal in the first period on a knuckling shot that threaded a path among three Anaheim teammates.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 24, 2023
Hyman scored his second of the night and 11th overall on a 4-on-2 rush, sending a knuckling shot off a Draisaitl set-up past Francouz at 3:55 for a 4-2 lead.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2022
“Or I had people calling and saying, ‘I just need to talk with you because I’m white knuckling my way through things that I could do before the pandemic.’
From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2022
“No,” came back sourly, “but here you are in the officer’s room with two robots standing guard at the door. That’s not knuckling under, is it?”
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
